The unemployment rate remained at 5.9 percent, as job numbers rose but so did the number of job seekers.

The July jobless rate matches June’s 5.9 percent rate, which was the first monthly increase this year after falling to 5.7 percent in May.

The new jobs data that came out today show that Indiana continues to add work in the private sector.

The state added 9,900 private sector jobs in July, with gains largely concentrated in the manufacturing sector (up 5,500), said the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

Indiana has added over 66,300 private sector jobs in the past year and 244,000 since July 2009, the low point of employment in the state.

Despite the job gains, the unemployment rate didn’t budge from June, mainly due to another sizable increase in the labor force. Indiana's labor force has grown by more than 54,000 over the past year at a rate that is over eight times larger than the national rate of growth during the same time period (1.71 percent versus the nation’s 0.21 percent).

“Indiana followed up a record-breaking June by adding nearly 10,000 more private sector jobs in July,” Scott B. Sanders, workforce commissioner, said in a statement. He called the job gains “quite remarkable.”

Sanders also noted that initial and continued claims for unemployment insurance benefits remain at levels not seen since 2000.

Sectors showing job declines in July included professional and business services (down 2,100), and leisure and hospitality (down 500).